Improvement in life-boats



UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

EDWARD A. BARRETT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOSEPH J. WALTON, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT m LIFE-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 138,225, dated April 29, 1873; application filed March 12,1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD A. BARRETT, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Boats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, that will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon which form a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to furnish attachments by which the ordinary boat may be quickly and conveniently converted into a life-boat; and it consists in the construction and combination of parts by which the same is accomplished, so that when the boat is in ordinary use there are no attachments pertainin g to the life-boat in the way, as hereinafter more fully described and pointed out by the claim.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 a front view, and Fig. 3 a rear view, of a boat with my invention attached thereto. Fig. at is a section of one of the fastenings used in attaching the tubes to the boat.

A represents an ordinary boat, to which is attached on each side a tube, B, extending from bow to stern, the ends of the two tubes being joined together at the bow and stern by means of strong buckles a a; or they may be firmly lashed together. The tubes B B may be made of rubber or other similar suitable material, filled with air by means of bellows or other convenient means 5 or they may be made of canvass filled with cork chippings, forming long cork cushions. If cork cushions, they may,'when not in use, be stowed away inthe boat on each side of the bulwarks; and when air-tubes are used, the air must be let out and the tubes stowed away in a box kept in the boat for that purpose. When the tubes are to be used they are applied to the boat on which there will be two battens, P, running around the boat, and between which the tubes are to be placed. On these battens are secured metal screw-sockets D, with screws G, the construction of which is fully shown in Fig. 4, the. head of the screw fitting in the socket. The screws G G secure metal fenders J J, which pass over and hold the tubes B B in place. The sockets and screws being secured on an ordinary boat, the tubes B B can be quickly applied, and the boat thus converted into a life-boat. The sockets are firmly secured in the battens P, so as to come just even with the surface of the battens, so that when the tubes B B are not in use the screws G are returned to the sockets D, the heads of the screws fitting the sockets so that nothing projects beyond the battens to be in the way when the boat is in ordinary use; and as the screw fills the socket the water is kept from the socket and screw, thereby preventing the parts from becoming rusty, and the screw and socket are always injplace when required to be used.

Bythis means the ordinary boat is conveniently and quickly converted into a life-boat, while by the means employed, when in ordinary use, there are no devices pertaining to the life-boat in the way to prevent its convenient use.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim. as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The battens P P, provided with the permanent sockets D D and countersunk screws G G, combined with the fender-straps J J and buoyant tubes B B provided with connections at bow and stern, whereby said tubes are detaehably connected to the boat, so that the same is convertible to a life or ordinary boat, as desired, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD A. BARRETT.

Witnesses:

FRED. W. SEARING, J OSEPH J. WALTON. 

